Buggy tours from Natal mean driving on the beach for most of the time
Full day buggy tours are a very popular thing to do here. They offer the opportunity to explore the surrounding beaches of Natal and desert-like dunes.
Major part of the buggy tour is to drive on the beach. This is fine for me as I have always enjoyed beach driving.
Pretty bad accidents by self-drive buggies on the pretty steep dunes have occurred in the past. Hence, it is now compulsory to have a licensed driver and car. I paid 480 BRL for a car/driver with max 4 passengers.
Going North
I decided to opt for the tour going north as I had been to the other side i.e. to Pipa in a previous occasion. Having said that, Pipa is definitely another great destination.
Departure at 8AM
We left at around 8AM heading on the coastal road for about half an hour crossing the new bridge of Natal.
Before getting onto the dunes the driver deflated the tires a bit for them to have more grip on the sand. Our first stop was near a little lake nested in between dune.
Skyline of Natal
Climbing on to the top of one of them, I had a great view onto distant Natal. I was again surprised to see all those skyscrapers. Amazing development had taken place in recent years in Natal.
Entertainment on the dunes
Camel rides are offered here. You get dressed up in an Arabian attire to really get the feeling of being somewhere in the Sahara. Kids can ride a donkey on the dunes. These activities are obviously geared towards tourists but I could see that people quite enjoyed them.
More dunes
We continuing driving on the dunes high above the beach passing a number of spots with quite amazing sea views.
River crossing on a raft
We got to a little river which had to be crossed on a raft carrying two buggies at a time. It was manual work as it was pushed across by the raft handlers.
From here on, we were either in the middle of dunes or driving entirely on the beach. As it was low tide, the beaches were wide and some natural pools had formed with some kite boarders engaging in their first attempts.
Crazy but fun driving
At one point the driver asked me whether I was up for some adventurous driving. As I had consented, he started going a bit crazy.
At times the downhill slope was so steep that my heart would stop for a beat. Other times, he would drive up a very steep dune and then let the car roll back.
Not to speak of the very sharp turns in the middle of a steep dune. The car would be tilted to the point that I could easily touch the sand from my seat.
To be honest, I am not sure how safe this driving was but he had ask my consent and – it was a lot of fun.
Genipabu
The view from the top of the dunes was again spectecular.
And here it was time to drive down a very steep slop and get back onto the beach.
Sand invading houses
Corrosion and climate change left some visible signs on some homes located on the beach. This little beach house was literally eaten up by sand.
Meeting point of buggies
Next stop was Barra do Rio with yet another lagoon and a very popular establishment. It appeared that all the buggies of town had a rendezvous here.
Desert-like dunes
Then we were back onto the dunes again. At times, I had the impression of being in the middle of a desert somewhere in Arabia.
Ingenious cooling system
Just before reaching our next destination, the driver stopped at a small establishment near a little river.
I was impressed by the cooling system the owner had come up with for the fruits on display. The light reflection on the water filled plastic bag keeps flies away and, as he had made little holes into it, the continues water spray has a cooling effect.
After a little appetiser consisting of great shrimps skewers and drink out of the cool box, we continued towards Jacuma.
Jacuma
This is another very popular spot on yet another lagoon with plenty of entertainment such as a chairlift which takes you straight down into the water or a nearly vertical slide ending in the water.
Here we had an excellent late lunch consisting of grilled lobster skewer.
Final stop
Last stop of this tour was Muriu before heading back to Natal. This time around we went on the highway as the high tide had come in and the beaches were unpassable on some stretches.
Overall, I enjoyed this tour. However, the number of buggies and tourists was impressive. This might be due to the fact that January is high season.
Buggy tours, Natal – some tips:
Make sure that the water is going out (i.e. low tide coming) when you leave Natal in order to enjoy the ride on the beaches. Otherwise, you would be getting to the main points driving on asphalt roads which is not really the idea.
Sunscreen is a must especially if you sit on the back seats of the buggy as most of them are cabriolets type of cars. You might consider wearing a long sleeve shirt.
I do definitely advise that you take your hat and sunglasses along.
My posts on Natal and surroundings include the general one covering mainly Ponta Negra near Natal, one on various daytrips that you can do, where to have the best food, my experience during a buggy tour, and finally some travel tips.
Enjoy the read!
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If in that part of the world, a buggy tour is the thing to do albeit be prepared to be in company of loads of other tourists.
My next posts will be on Vienna (by the end of this week) followed by Abu Dhabi (towards end of May) and then a self drive road trip through Tuscany and Umbria in Italy by mid June … just in case those places are of interest you.